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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Joy

What a lovely evening I have had. I knew that I wanted to spend some time scrapbooking -- but I really had intended to go a different direction entirely...even gone specifically to Scrap It to pick up some purple paper and embellishments so I could work on a lo from a recent trip to the Bahamas. Oh well...the best laid plans...

As I sat down to work, my heart was drawn to a favorite picture I took a couple of years ago of a lady named, Tamara. I met her in the midst of a bitter winter in Siberia, Russia. She was pulling a cart filled with straw from one end of her village to the other where she had a very skinny cow that provided milk for all the children in the village. I was freezing cold despite all my thermal underwear, gloves, coat, scarf and hat. She on the other hand, had only a jacket and a scarf tied loosely around her head. Her eyes are what caught me. In a face that only partially showed the difficult life she had led thus far, were these incredibly joyful eyes. They danced. With her eyes, she said, "all is right with my world." I had to talk with her. With my very poor Russian and then finally an interpreter we found out we were sisters. She loves the Lord with all of her heart. In the midst of our conversation she said, "Indeed, He is my glory and my joy!"

Back in my warm hotel room, I pulled out my Bible and realized that she had personalized 1 Thessalonians 2:20 to herself..."Indeed, You are our glory and joy." I wept. And confessed to the Lord that too often I get caught up in my circumstances and lose my "happiness" -- and asked Him to always help me realize that while my circumstances may be less than pleasant or what I want...they are not what give me joy...only my Lord can do that.

So tonight, apparently, God chose to use scrapbooking to remind me of this truth...and thus I did this page in honor of Tamara and hopefully to show my Lord that "He indeed is my glory and my joy!"

Beautiful.Beautiful layout.Beautiful memory.Just beautiful!I so often and way too easily put God on my personal shelf. He has given me so much.I am so blessed.What a beautiful reminder of the need to rejoice in Him no matter what our circumstances might be.Thank you my friend.

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